One morning years ago I went to water my garden and when I turned the hose on nothing came out but a dribble. I had nothing to give to the thirsty plants. I had to go to the source and unclog things. Just like the garden, our vertical flow in our prayer life is the most important part – it’s the purpose of prayer! We have nothing unless we have our vertical relationship right.

So much to cover & so little time. 1 Corinthians has been as if we were reading the history books of the American church – yet it was not us. Humans have a tendency to take what God has made and use it incorrectly. Today we take a quick blast through 1 Corinthians and hit some key points from our study the last few months.

What motivates you? What makes you want to get up in the morning? What drives you to go out and experience all the day has for you? Sometimes we would answer that as “nothing”. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t motivated – it means we have different motivations. Today we talk about wrong motivators – we’re all motivated, it’s what motivates us that will change the world or have us withering into nothingness.

Driving something "like we stole it" implies recklessness, or lack of care. We STOP playing church when we realize that God has gifted is this life and we owe Him everything. The message from our God has always been to not worry about the this life – just use it to to HIS glory & the best of our ability. We need to drive it like HE stole it.

The validity of the bible & being afraid of God are topics that are discussed all over the world in private & public conversations. Is there a logical or rational way to find the answer? Is it all up to our own experiences and opinions? Or is there an answer in all the arguing?

The phrase “drive it like you stole it” means we treat something like it’s not ours and we have no consequences for the damage or destruction it experiences. For humanity, and even more specific – Christianity, that’s opposite of what we’re called to do. We called to live our lives as if someone else of great importance owns them. We are called to “drive it like HE stole it”. That would mean we drive it like HE says and how HE designed it. When we follow the Manufacturers guidelines we get the most out of the product.

Trying to get a group of people with differing ideas, passions, gifts, weaknesses and opinions to go in the same direction is DIFFICULT. The world has a simple way to describe it – it’s like herding cats. When it comes to the church & gathering together, sometimes we don’t take this advice seriously. The church isn’t a place for our pet projects or ideas to be worked out – the church is a place to serve others & in so doing, glorify God.

Have you ever started talking to someone then their eyes just glaze over? They haven’t heard a word you said and you said great stuff! It was important and powerful! Sometimes what is a blessing to me personally I think is ok to do all the time and I get consumed with myself and my benefts– but that’s not what God saved us unto. God saved us SO THAT we can be unifed with our family in humanity to HIS family in Spirit.

Have you ever been hit with a huge list of questions and you just aren’t sure where to start? Well that’s what happened at Rise this month! We had 8+ questions just from our riseKIDS ministry! We will be discussing everything from Mary, pregnancy, God’s birth, will-based love and much more!

When something is the greatest – there’s no room for another in it’s place or you devalue “the greatest”. Joy is something that is ALL consuming. Our level of joy will affect every area of our life and if we don’t have the greatest joy in us,motivating us, empowering us – we devalue the greatest joy.

Life is certainly not rainbows, unicorns, &i lollipops. It’s more often storms, stampedes, and stale food. But if God made us to have a need for joy – what do we do? Can we really have joy in everything?

Why does joy matter? Can’t I just float through life, enjoy the good times and endure the bad times? Why do we need to talk about joy and happy and all that? We were made to have joy – IN GOD is where it’s found. Joy is a choice –our will has to say yes to God in our life and no to our way.

We all struggle with joy. In fact, we might have given up on the fact that God wants us to have joy. Our main purpose in life is joy, but in what? Our joy’s foundation will determine if it’s unending or like the waves of the sea – up and down.

Today we discuss two topics that are surprisingly related – faith & hearing. Have you ever doubted your own faith? What about the faith of another? How can we reach those that we see are under CLEARLY false teachers or teachings? Then, how can I really know I am hearing God? How do I really know it’s Him and not someone else?

The original thing, the old school ways, are always called on to show how things REALLY should be done. If you want to know how to do something in it’s purest form, researching the original way is a great start. What about love? Is there a true form of love? Is there an original love?

Have you ever tried to imitate someone? You start out thinking about how they look, act, and respond to life. Then, you start to think, “what would they do?”. But being the same is not what God has called us to do. We are NOT all the same. We do NOT all have the same abilities to live life. But, we all need each other because our strengths work together to make a powerful hell-crushing movement that Christ said is unstoppable. Let’s do this – but frst, I need you to be different.

How many times has someone shared with you THEIR view of the Holy Spirit? They said the word “tongues” or used a phrase that didn’t make sense. Are there times where you felt completely confused about this “Spirit” and why it’s such a big deal – join the team! We all have the same issue Paul was wanting to help, which is why he starts with, “I don’t want you to be ignorant about spiritual things”

QnA Sunday time again – this week, it’s one topic,but a heavy one: forgiveness. What in your life are you holding onto because it was so evil, so horrible that you can’t let go? What in your past has shaped you today – but negatively? What “issues” do you have today because of what someone did yesterday? Christ died to free us with His UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. When we choose to not forgive, this cuts off our God’s love and makes us God...